Call of Duty advert banned for trivialising sexual violence
Source: BBC Technology
The advert for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after complaints that it trivialised sexual violence.
The commercial depicted fake officers at an airport security checkpoint, claiming the real officers were “too busy playing the game.” A man is selected for a “random” search, told to strip “down to everything but the shoes,” and a female officer puts on gloves while saying, “time for the puppet show.”
The spot ran on YouTube and video‑on‑demand services, including ITV and Channel 5, in November 2025.
Background
- Activision Blizzard UK Ltd said the ad promoted the 18‑rated game and was therefore aimed at adult audiences with a higher tolerance for irreverent humour.
- The campaign’s premise was that “replacers” had to step into various job roles because the original staff were playing the game.
- Comedian Nikki Glazer appeared as one of the replacer characters.
- The ad had been cleared by Clearcast with an “ex‑kids” timing restriction and was not broadcast during or around children’s programming.
- Activision argued the scenario was deliberately implausible, parodic, and did not sexualise the act of searching; any innuendo was incidental and the content contained no explicit imagery.
ASA ruling
The ASA received nine complaints that the advert trivialised sexual violence. It noted:
- The story involved a non‑consensual, invasive search of a man at airport security.
- Although the man remained clothed throughout, the humour was generated by the humiliation and implied threat of painful, non‑consensual penetration.
The ASA concluded the advert was irresponsible and offensive and ruled that it must not appear again in its current form.
Two additional complaints suggested the ad might encourage drug use because a replacement officer handled a prescription medication container and winked. This complaint was not upheld.
Previous bans
This is not the first Call of Duty advert to be banned. In 2012, an advert for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3—showing armed men firing at a lorry—was given a daytime ban by the ASA for scenes of violence and destruction deemed “inappropriate” for young children.
Read more about the 2012 ban.